"People need to start focusing on keeping borrowing at a minimum, and think creatively about ways to get a low-cost education," Nick Clements, co-founder of personal finance site MagnifyMoney.com, told us Monday. "And if you are going to borrow, use publicly available data and tools to ensure you are making a good investment."

The New York City-based company published a list of the most rewarding schools for students using loans to pay for their educations.

According to Clements, the best methods to pay off student loans are to avoid them or keep them as low as possible the first place.

"People should not be ashamed to take advantage of community colleges, to work during school, to find ways to speed up the degree, including three years, and to do a cost-benefit analysis," Clements said.

Additionally, four-year colleges aren't for everyone. Many jobs and careers can be obtained by people with associate degrees or vocational school training.

"The people who end up in the most trouble are people who went to for-profit colleges and people who borrowed heavily but never graduated," Clements explained. "If you focus on graduating on time, or early, and manage your debt relative to your lifetime earning potential, you will be in good shape."